


Collection of Kaiba Moments

by StellarChrondrite



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Drabble Collection, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 15:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16431749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarChrondrite/pseuds/StellarChrondrite
Summary: Yes, it's another collection of drabble moments of the Kaiba brothers - but who can resist reading up on what they do outside of Duel Monsters?Seto and Mokuba show us what they do when they're not busy running a company, playing children's card games or seeking revenge against their enemies. And, of course, it's all in the typical Kaiba fashion we've come to love!





	1. Pizza Night

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to re-upload the current drabbles I've written for this story here so lots of new people can enjoy it. So ... enjoy I guess! 
> 
> This chapter focuses on yummy pizza and some brotherly love.

"Thank you!" called Mokuba as he waved off the deliveryman. He closed the door and stared longingly at the item he held in his hands.

A deep crust pizza with all the extra toppings, enclosed within its own little box.

The smell was so appetising. The cheese looked divine. The crust was golden and looked luscious.

Mokuba was going to enjoy the little feast he had planned for tonight.

He strode over to the living room and got himself comfy on the couch. He set the pizza down beside him and got himself all wrapped up in blankets and pillows, effectively encasing himself with feather-filled armour. By the time he was done, he looked more like a pillow-snowman than the president of KaibaCorp's little brother.

A hand reached out to grab the remote from the table, and fingers nimbly switched on the TV before flicking through the channels.

Eventually Mokuba found the channel with one of his favourite cartoons on and settled down to enjoy his marathon. He was going to watch the entire new series with no interruption from anyone; he'd even gone so far as to draw out a makeshift No-Entry sign and tape it to the living room door.

The raven-haired kid smiled and reached out to grab a slice of his dinner for the day.

"Mokuba Kaiba, what is  **THIS**?"

Mokuba flinched when he heard that voice. It was all too familiar; a cold deep voice that still held some compassion for him and only him. He didn't want to look in the direction of the voice, but if he stayed frozen in place he would get it badly.

So he turned to face the person who had just entered the room, despite the sign on the door.

"Oh, heya Nii-sama …" Mokuba chuckled weakly.

Seto Kaiba marched up to the couch, clutching the No-Entry sign in his right hand. His brown bangs had fallen in front of his blue eyes, which he quickly brushed back, and his mouth was set into a scolding scowl. He was dressed in his smart white suit, the one he usually wore to work, and he was holding his silver briefcase in his left hand; obviously he'd only just come home from KaibaCorp HQ.

"Can you explain to me what this is doing on the door?" demanded Seto, placing the sign on the armrest.

"Well, uh," stuttered Mokuba. "You see, I, uh -"

"You are supposed to be in bed," sighed Seto, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You need your sleep, little brother."

"Oh, and you don't?" Mokuba decided to risk a throwback. "Mr I'm-So-Busy-I-Don't-Need-Sleep?" He didn't mean it in a cruel way; he just wanted to tease his brother.

"You know I am a busy man," retorted Seto crossly, though his face did soften for a moment. "With all these schematics for Duel Disks and Kaiba Land plans to authorise I -" He stopped mid-sentence.

Mokuba suddenly got intrigued. What had caught Seto's attention for him to stop like that? Normally his focus was legendary; nothing could interrupt him even at work. So why had he suddenly stopped?

Then it hit him. The younger Kaiba saw that his brother was looking at the pizza.

Uh-oh.

"And … what do you call this?" he asked sharply, pointing to the food.

"Uh …" Mokuba tried to come up with a suitable lie. " … a gift from Roland?"

"Have you had dinner yet?" Seto called his bluff.

Double uh-oh.

"Uhhh … yeeeaaaaah …?" Mokuba made a vain attempt to stretch out the syllables in order to deter his brother.

Seto fixed him with his trademark 'deep blue stare', crossing his arms as he did. A finger tapped against his opposite arm, indicating he wasn't falling for it.

Mokuba glanced at the TV and saw his cartoon had already started. With a dejected sigh, he hung his head.

"OK, no, I haven't," he admitted. "THIS is my dinner." He gestured to the pizza. "But you can't stop me from eating it."

"Mokuba, we have cordon bleu chefs cooking at this mansion every day," countered Seto. "They can cook you any meal you want. You don't have to eat something as common as this!"

"Oh lighten up, Seto!" Mokuba suddenly exclaimed, taking his brother by surprise. "I just wanted to enjoy my marathon of this cartoon without any disruptions! I wanted to get comfy, relax, and eat something that I wanted to eat for a change!"

"The chefs can make you -" started Seto, but he was interrupted.

"Nuh-uh," said Mokuba, shaking his head. "I wanted something made by someone else. Something delicious, not rich! Something I could eat without having to sit at the dinner table!" He let out a sigh. "I just wanted a relaxing evening … but now it looks like I'm not even gonna be able to feed myself."

Mokuba pouted and crossed his arms in a huff. Seto could see his brother was not at all happy that his plans had been spoiled. He stared at Mokuba, and suddenly felt his stomach rumble.

He was hungry too. He'd forgotten he'd skipped lunch today to get through some VR schematics.

It was at that moment, when he placed his hand over his stomach, that Seto knew what he was going to have to eat.

He slid down into the couch, took off his blazer and rested it on the armrest before tapping the raven-haired child on the shoulder.

Mokuba glanced at Seto, still pouting. "What?" he muttered.

"Do you think you could … share your pizza with me, Mokie?" the brown-haired CEO asked.

Mokuba was silent. Then, his lips curled upwards and he gave his trademark cheeky grin.

"You have to sit down and marathon this cartoon with me," he bargained.

Seto rolled his eyes like he didn't care, but deep down he was just happy to see Mokuba smiling again. "Fine," he answered. "It's not like I had anything else important to do tonight."

Mokuba's smile increased and he handed Seto a few pillows. The elder Kaiba brother accepted them and reached behind the couch, seemingly doing something, before retracting his hand and getting settled in.

As the Kaiba brothers began their marathon, eating slices of pizza as they did, the No-Entry sign that Seto had stuck to the back of the couch made it evident that they were not to be disturbed.


	2. Mokuba's Bedtime Story - CinderYugi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this little drabble we get to see Mokuba's skill in weaving a fairy tale. What, did you expect Seto to tell a bedtime story? 
> 
> Come on in and listen as Mokuba spins the tale of Cinderella, with a Yugi-fied twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: Joey and Tristan play the roles they do simply due to their history with Yugi. I think they'd make great substitutions for the ugly stepsisters!

It was late at the Kaiba mansion. And, unfortunately for Seto, Mokuba wasn't tired.

He'd tried coaxing his little brother to go to bed with promises of a movie theatre visit and ice cream on his next day off, but Mokuba had seen through his ploy and decided to try and one-up him.

"Please, Mokuba," Seto practically begged. "I'll do anything.  _Please_. Just go to bed."

"Hmm," the younger Kaiba brother pondered out loud, finger tapping his chin. "I'll go to bed ... if you let me tell you a bedtime story."

At this, Seto's face fell into a confused expression. "Don't you mean, if  _I_  tell  _you_  a story?"

"Nope," grinned Mokuba. "You have to let me tell you a story. Or are you afraid you can't handle a little made-up tale?" He folded his arms and smirked at his older brother.

Seto glared down at his brother. "I'm not afraid of anything," he said matter-of-factly, crossing his own arms over his chest.

"So is that a yes?"

"Just tell the story."

Mokuba clambered into his bed and got himself comfortable underneath the sheets. Seto pulled the chair from his desk over and sat down in it, leaning back and refusing to unfold his arms.

The things he put up with from his brother ...

* * *

_Once upon a time …_

There was a very rich family known as the Mutos. They owned a very successful chain of game shops all throughout Japan and enjoyed happiness wherever they went.

_"Wait wait wait. From the sounds of things, Muto is going to be the main character. Mokuba -"_

_"Hush Seto. I'm setting the background!"_

One day, however, that all changed. The wife got sick and the husband proceeded to drive her to hospital. On the way there they were both struck by fate that landed them in a car crash. Both died upon impact.

The grandfather was left to take care of the son of the two Mutos, but the strain of running both the game shops and caring for a five year old took its toll on him. Eventually the chain closed down and now only a single game shop remained in Domino City.

The boy grew into a fine young teenager, with hair of tri-coloured splendour and eyes as rare as an amethyst. His natural looks surpassed everyone's masked beauty at school, but that only made him the target of bullying. In particular, two older teenage boys always picked on him for his hair and love of games. As such, the boy's life was complete misery after the death of his parents and downfall of money.

Destiny decided to change this boy's fate, however, and gave him an opportunity that no-one would ever have thought possible …

* * *

"I'm off to school grandpa!" called Yugi from the doorway of the Kame Game Shop. "Stay well!"

"See you later, my boy," Solomon called back from the register. "Oh, don't forget my pills, would you?"

"Of course not," chuckled Yugi. "Bye!" He closed the door behind him.

When he was sure his grandpa couldn't see his face, the boy sighed sadly and started the heavy trudge toward school. Life just wasn't the same without … without happiness. Sure, he wore a mask over his face with a smile on it, but in reality it was just frown after frown after sorrowful weep after frown.

Things had gone badly downhill since Yugi's parents had died. He could still remember it clearly - the police knocking on the door … grandpa answering it … hearing the words 'Muto' and 'deceased' … just thinking about it sent tears to his eyes. Then the game shop chain had spiralled into bankruptcy and left only a single shop open - right in the shadows of Domino. His grandpa had tried to cope but it had affected his health, and now Yugi had been forced into running the shop when he came home.

Life was hard … but the boy was thankful for being alive. If anything, he had a dream to cling on to.

That dream … that dream was to create his own game someday, one that everyone would play and enjoy. Maybe Industrial Illusions would take on the idea and make it real. Maybe even KaibaCorp would -

Yugi shook his head. No, KaibaCorp would  _never_  take on his dream. They were already successful thanks to the CEO's brilliant young mind and inventions. He was just a small boy, short for his age and with strange hair to boot.

Yugi noticed that whilst he had been wallowing he'd come across one of the more successful card stores. He took some time to peer into the window and have a look at the display.

Duel Monsters was all the rage at the moment. The display had cards of all sorts scattered about it, with some 'Ultra Rares' sitting on specially designed plinths to show off their foil glory.

One card caught Yugi's eye. He stared longingly at it. The Dark Magician. A Spellcaster-type monster with a confident look and a barely noticeable smile tugging at its lips. Ultra Rare rarity, and the one in the window was the first one to be released in Domino City. Not even the Kame Game shop had it yet.

Yugi was a fan of Duel Monsters and had managed to scrape together as much money as he could to buy packs for his Deck. He'd constructed the Deck completely from booster packs, simply due to the monetary restraints life had given him. He was pretty proud of it, and it helped that his grandpa even gave him a couple of Ultra Rare cards from his backroom to add to the Deck. All that it was missing was the one card that would unleash its true power. The Dark Magician.

Yugi caught a glance at the clock in the store and gasped. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna be late!" He took off for Domino High as fast as he could.

The boy failed to notice the Dark Magician card watch him leave. The small smile widened slightly as the foil finish brightened in the sunlight.

* * *

Yugi skidded into the school ground way before the bell would go off. He panted in relief, hands resting on his knees as he did so.

"'Ey 'ey! Look who it is! Da boy with da weirdo hair!"

That taunt made Yugi stopped panting for a moment and groan. As soon as he did that, he felt himself be picked up by his backpack and found himself staring into the eyes of Joey Wheeler, one of his personal bullies from hell.

_"Wheeler too? Are you doing this on purpose, little bro?"_

_"Well, if Yugi's the star, I had to make room for Joey ..."_

_"That mutt couldn't tell his way out of a paper bag, let alone be a main character in something!"_

_"Seto, I won't go to sleep if you keep interrupting me!"_

_"..."_

_"Thanks, bro. Now where was I ...?"_

Joey gave a dark smirk before nodding to the person holding Yugi up. Tristan Taylor copied the smirk and held out the boy for his friend to tease.

"You got our money?" Joey asked plainly, hand outstretched.

"Here," sighed Yugi, reaching into his pocket and giving the elder boy a couple of coins and a bill.

"Thanks," chuckled Joey. "Now I have a gift for you too. It's called 'A Good Ol' Beatin'!'"

The next few minutes were spent throwing poor Yugi around and giving him bruises and cuts all over. Yugi couldn't do anything about it; besides he'd gotten so used to the torment and pain it didn't really bother him much anymore.

When the bell went the bullies left Yugi on the floor, hurting and scared. He slowly picked himself up and walked into the school, close to tears - and it wasn't even first lesson.

As he made his way through the corridors, he saw a poster advertising the school prom. Yugi didn't give the poster any notice. He wasn't one for parties, let alone proms, and everyone would surely stay away from him anyway. Besides, he had no suit, no money for said suit, and no way to get to the prom in said suit.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was many things. A CEO, an inventor, a child prodigy …

A prom expert he was not.

The young man had somehow found himself obligated to attend this Domino High School prom, to help promote the new Duel Disk he'd invented. How he'd been roped into this he couldn't quite remember, but it somehow involved Mokuba …

_"Seto! SETO!" Mokuba practically screamed at the door._

_Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose to keep himself from getting anymore annoyed. He listened to his brother's wailing for a few moments, tangled with wild thumping on the door, before giving a sigh._

_"Come in Mokuba."_

_Mokuba opened the door and rushed forward so that he was leaning as far as he could on the desk. Kaiba had to lean back slightly just so the boy could stretch out._

_"What do you need?" the elder brother asked calmly. "I am a very busy man."_

_"I was wondering," started Mokuba, slowly pulling himself away. "There's this event going on … and maybe … um, maybe …"_

_"Mokuba, stop beating about the bush and tell me," Kaiba interrupted, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen._

_"Could you go to this event with me?" asked Mokuba. "Pleeeeeaaaase?"_

_Kaiba let out another sigh. "Brother, I've got tons of paperwork to do. I can't go."_

_"Oh come on Seto!" Mokuba huffed, crossing his arms in a way Kaiba struggled to resist. "It's just one night!"_

_"No," came the stiff reply._

_"There'll be food!"_

_"No."_

_"There'll be music!"_

_"No."_

_"There'll be dancing!"_

_"Definite no."_

_"It'll be a great place to promote your new Duel Disk!"_

_"Absolut -"_

_Kaiba stopped mid-sentence. Actually, a promotion of his new Duel Disk would be good. Sales would rise, and production would get underway a lot quicker._

_It pained him somewhat to agree, but he had to._

_"Hmm. That sounds like a sensible idea. For once, I think I will agree with you Mokuba."_

_Mokuba stopped his chattering and gasped before jumping up and down in happiness. "Really, really, really?!" he shouted happily. "Oh thank you Seto! Thank you thank you thank you!"_

_Kaiba let his mouth twitch and he gave a very small smile. "I shall make the arrangements. So what is this event?"_

_"It's the school prom at Domino High," called Mokuba, already at the doorway. "See ya brother!" He left the room._

_"Domino High, hmm?" said Kaiba, completely oblivious to what he'd just heard for a moment. "Of course; that place is crawling with kids. It is Mokuba's school after all. Decent place to promote - waitaminute WHAT?!"_

_The young CEO's eyes widened when he realised. A school prom?! At Domino High?! A place where snot-nosed kids bunked off lessons and tore at other people's feelings instead of focusing on their studies?! The only reason he barely tolerated it was because it was the best school for Mokuba to go to in Domino at all!_

Kaiba leaned forward on his elbows, interlocked fingers brushing against his lips. His brow had furrowed upon remembering the details.

"Mokuba, you are so dead," he thought bitterly.

* * *

Three weeks passed and soon the night of the prom arrived. Unfortunately for Yugi he would not be going. Solomon had gotten a backache on the day and so he'd gone to the hospital, leaving the boy to run the shop. A Saturday of all days, just the boy's luck.

Yugi leaned on his hand as he drew a circle with his finger on the counter. He was bored and miserable. Going to the prom would have been nice … but he had nothing to wear, no way of getting there -

_"Come on Tristan! Let's get to dat partay!"_

_"I'm right behind ya, buddy!"_

\- and everyone would have made fun of him anyway.

Hearing Joey and Tristan run straight past the shop door, almost as if taunting him, made Yugi tear up. He gritted his teeth to try and keep calm, but the tears balanced precariously on his lashes.

"I - I -" the youngest Muto stammered, before the tears fell down his cheeks and he collapsed onto the counter surface. He sobbed away into his arms, finally letting the situation his life had descended into get to him.

As he sobbed, he didn't notice a figure manifest itself in front of the door. A gust of wind wrapped itself into a mini tornado and a man flew out from the opening. He was dressed in mystical, medieval armour with what appeared to be wire wrapped around his legs and arms. A large hat that resembled a cross between a pointy witch hat and a knight's helmet rested on his head and a long staff was held in one hand.

Only people who played Duel Monsters would have recognised the man.

The Dark Magician.

_"Hold up!"_

_"What is it now, Seto?"_

_"Duel Monsters cannot be real, even in stories. How do you explain this?"_

_"Seto, can I please continue the story?"_

_"Not until you explain how the Dark Magician came to life."_

_"If I said, Ancient Egyptian Magic, would you believe me?"_

_"No."_

_" ... I'm carrying on."_

The monster from the card gently pushed open the door, hearing a comforting RING! sound emerge from above him. He casually approached the counter and leaned over the top.

Yugi had slid down from his position to the floor, still crying. He was now sobbing into his lap, his arms wrapped around his small legs which were pulled up to his chest. His back rested against the counter and his shoulders moved each time he sobbed. His hair still stuck out like a porcupine; his golden bangs were poking out from his arms and his tri-coloured locks shook like paper in the wind. It was obvious he hadn't heard the bell ring.

The Dark Magician seemed genuinely saddened by the boy's despair and he lifted his staff into the air. Gently he prodded the young Muto's arm as he rounded the counter.

Yugi felt the prod and looked up. His eyes were red from crying and he had tear-stained cheeks. He looked in the direction of the poke but saw nothing.

A tap on his arm made him face to the side and that was when he saw him. The Dark Magician looked inquisitive as he crouched beside the boy. Gentle eyes looked into bleary amethyst ones.

There was a moment of silence between the pair.

"Wh - who … are … y - you?" Yugi stuttered through hiccups of sobs.

The Dark Magician closed his eyes and sent a message to the boy's mind. Yugi was surprised when he heard a voice, but the man's mouth in front of him did not move.

_"Do not be afraid my child. I am here to help you."_

"H - help me?" whispered Yugi.

_"Yes, help you. I hear you wanted to go to the prom tonight."_

"I - I guess …" murmured Yugi, looking away. "But I - I c - can't. I don't h - have anything to w - wear or any tr - transport … let alone any fr - fr - friends …"

The Dark Magician gave a smile before extending a hand out to the boy. Yugi looked at it for a few seconds before gingerly gripping it and being helped to his feet. Now that he was up, he could see that the man before him looked very familiar but why escaped his mind.

_"I can help you with all of that,"_  the man said telepathically.  _"I am the Dark Magician after all."_

"D - Dark Magician?" repeated Yugi. Suddenly it hit him. The card he wanted the most; the monster that he needed for his Deck - here he was, standing in front of him … breathing! Alive! Real!

"Ahhhhhh!" the boy screamed, stumbling backward and backing up against the wall. "G - get - get away from me! Someone help!"

The Dark Magician was surprised at this sudden outburst. Surely his gesture showed he meant the boy no harm? He motioned with his hands to quieten down, but Yugi was too panicked to listen.

"Please, somebody help me!" he yelled. "Intruder! There's a crazed man dressed like the Dark Magician in here!"

_"Well, at least Yugi has some common sense."_

The monster had no choice. Waving his staff he cast a silencing spell on Yugi. The boy continued to scream, but he soon noticed that his voice had vanished.

_"Please don't be afraid. I can explain."_

Yugi would have whimpered if his voice were still with him. He curled in on himself slightly as the Dark Magician slowly approached.

_"If I give you your voice back, will you allow me to explain everything?"_

Yugi looked away for a moment, debating on whether or not to trust this stranger who claimed he was Dark Magician. Finally he nodded.

The Dark Magician reversed the spell and placed his staff on the counter.

_"Thank you. Now, do you remember the day you walked past the card shop and saw the card display?"_

Yugi nodded again.

_"You were looking at me. I could tell how you wanted me so very badly. I knew that you wanted me to be your card. In that moment, an ancient magic that surrounds the Duel Monster cards activated and I became your card. Your … guardian, so to say."_

Yugi was puzzled, but then an old story came to mind. He opened his mouth to speak in a quiet voice, "You mean, like a fairy godmother?"

_"Something like that. I'm more of a Fairy GodMonster to be truthful. But back to the point. I am now sworn to protect you from harm, and I am more than happy to do it. I am here to help you piece your life back together, like a broken jigsaw that's waiting to be fixed. And here is how I am going to do it, my child."_

The Dark Magician picked up his staff and looked around the shop for a few items. Yugi followed him, mesmerised, as his fairy godmonster picked up a couple of cards before going outside. The young Muto was worried people would freak out upon seeing the monster, but the Dark Magician went round to the shadows.

Setting the cards down, the monster pointed his staff at them. He then let loose a rush of magic, and Yugi gasped when he saw what happened next.

The cards came to life! From the Trap Card 'Magical Hats' sprung a limousine for him to ride him. 'Kuriboh' turned into his driver and 'Black Luster Soldier' became his chauffeur. 'Swords of Revealing Light' provided a magical ambience to the ride and 'Dark Magician Girl' allowed for a nice 'pretend' date.

Yugi was astounded. Was all this for him? He turned to face Dark Magician and beamed. "Is this … really all for me?"

_"Of course. I am your fairy godmonster, and now part of your Deck. You deserve all that you have been given. Enjoy the prom."_

Yugi was so excited he practically bounded up to the limousine. As he touched the handle, however, he caught his reflection in the shiny surface of the car. He was still in his dirty school uniform - definitely not fit for a prom.

"I'd love to go," the boy said sadly, turning round. "But I don't have anything to wear."

At this, the Dark Magician snapped his fingers and had a shocked expression on his face.  _"Oh Slifer, I must have forgotten about that! Well, my child, let me fix that up for you."_  And he waved his staff and cast a spell that enfolded Yugi in its mystical embrace.

When the spell was complete, Yugi looked down and gasped. He was now wearing a deep blue suit with a purple tie and shined shoes. His hair was brushed and shiny, and he wore a Duel Disk on his left arm. Looking at his fairy godmonster, he got the telepathic reply, "Who knows? You may need me."

The crowning glory of the outfit, however, was a necklace that hung from around Yugi's neck. A sparkling chain held a glittering gold pyramid-shaped ornament, complete with eye on the front. It was mesmerising and seemed to emit some sort of aura.

"Ah …" Yugi was lost for words. "I … thank you, Dark Magician! Thank you!" He ran up to the monster and gave him a massive hug.

_"You're most welcome. Now, I believe the prom finishes at one, am I right? Make sure to leave before twelve or else my magic will unravel and there's not much I can do about that. Being a live Duel Monster only gives you so much power. The world could never cope with my full magic."_

"Ok," agreed Yugi as Black Luster Soldier opened the door for him. He stepped inside and sat down on the comfy purple seat. Dark Magician joined him before the door was closed.

_"Just remember, I will be with you always. Maybe not physically, but always in the Heart of the Cards."_

And with that he transformed back into his card self. Yugi picked up the card and smiled at the art before placing it in his Deck, shuffling it for good measure.

Winged Kuriboh drove off in the limousine, heading towards Domino High.

* * *

"Ugh, this is ridiculous."

Kaiba seethed in fury as he watched two boys make complete and utter fools of themselves as they tried to get closer to him. It had been like this all night so far - Duelists trying to fight him and him rejecting them with simple sharp words. Nobody had gotten it into their thick minds yet that he simply WASN'T INTERESTED.

"'Ey, get outta my way Tristan!"

"No way! I'm duellin' Kaiba first and you can't stop me!"

"Oh yeah? What's dat?"

"What?"

"Gotcha!"

"Ahhhhh! WHEELER!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at the pathetic display. He decided to retreat back to the stage where he could at least get ready for the debut of his latest Duel Disk. Smoothing out the white and blue suit he wore he stood up and headed backstage.

"This had better be worth it," he mumbled to himself. "If sales drop even 1% Mokuba is going to pay at the end of my Blue-Eyes."

* * *

The limousine drove up to the entrance of the school and Black Luster Soldier opened the door. A thankful Yugi stepped out alongside a modern-day looking Dark Magician Girl, who had her arm interlocked with his.

"..." The young boy took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

Dark Magician Girl nodded sweetly and enthusiastically.

"Then let's do this."

The pair walked through the open doors, following the sounds of music.

As they did, neither of them noticed the necklace had begun to shine and Yugi began to change. It was very brief, but when the glow died down Yugi looked different than before. For starters, he was taller. His middle bang now extended straight to the top of his hair and two more stretched out to the sides. He had a much more confident face on too, with his eyes set into a determined expression.

_"So now the Pharaoh joins the fray."_

_"Ssshhh! I'm getting to the good part here! You'll like it for sure!"_

"Come my dear," he said in a deeper, more authoritative voice. "Let's party."

* * *

Kaiba took one last deep breath to focus himself before he heard his name being announced on the loudspeaker. Finally, it was time to get this stupid demonstration over with.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may you please give a big Domino High greeting to … Mr Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp!"

There was an eruption of applause as Kaiba stepped out onto the stage, a look of confidence yet coldness on his face. He was never one for expressions.

"Good evening, students of Domino High," he greeted in his best 'I'm-trying-not-to-be-disgusted-by-you-lot' voice. "Are you enjoying the prom so far?"

He hated himself for asking that question afterwards. The reaction was killing his ears.

"Well, I'm here to make it even more enjoyable. Who amongst you are talented enough to play Duel Monsters?"

Hands shot up around the room. Kaiba relaxed somewhat inside; at least he had a keen and knowledgeable audience if they played the game.

"Well, that's good to know. As you all know, KaibaCorp specialise in making technology to make your favourite games even better. And now, today for all you 'lucky people' -" the tone was very sarcastic. " - I'm here to demonstrate the latest in the line of KaibaCorp Duel Disks!"

Another deafening scream met Kaiba's ears and he almost had to cover them, but he restrained himself just in time.

Brandishing his left arm (because that was the arm he favoured for wearing his Duel Disks), Kaiba showed off a gleaming dark blue piece of apparatus, with glowing cyan parts all over it. It looked lightweight and quite comfortable ("And believe me, it  _is_.")

"This Duel Disk allows you to digitise your entire Deck, meaning you no longer have to work to draw a card anymore. The cards show up on an interface wired to your visualiser -" He pointed to a band that ran around the back of his head. " - and so you can easily see what cards are on your field, in your Graveyard or even in your Deck! Also, it auto-shuffles your Deck for you, making it easy for those who cannot shuffle to save your lives." This was meant to be an insult to those who couldn't shuffle, but of course no-one picked up on the dripping sarcasm and freezing coldness that Kaiba had said it in.

"Now, I believe the best way to explain more about a Duel Disk is with a Duel. So who wants to Duel me?"

It was as if the floor had come alive. Hundreds of hands rose up and many of the students chanted, "Pick me! Pick me!" As if Kaiba would ever pick those ones.

The two boys from earlier had their hands raised and were once again pushing others out of the way to get to him. Hah. Yeah right.

Kaiba was just about to randomly pick a no-good Duelist when the room went silent. Everyone turned to see Yugi and Dark Magician Girl enter the room, though with his new looks no-one seemed to recognise him.

_"How can no-one recognise him? He and Yugi look almost identical!"_

_"It's called a story, nii-sama. Story characters are always oblivious to subtle changes."_

"Uh …" said Yugi. "Hello there."

Kaiba was in awe at this student. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the boy's smart uniform, coupled with the necklace he was wearing. It seemed almost familiar to him … yet somehow he couldn't place it.

_Wait. Argh, get you head in the game Kaiba! Pick a snot-nosed kid already!_

"Oh yeah! Made it! Hah hah Tristan, too late!"

The blond haired idiot had clambered onto the stage and was now standing proudly next to a still-staring Kaiba.

"So, Kaiba. Ya ready ta Duel me or what?" he asked rhetorically.

Kaiba didn't respond. He dutifully stepped off the stage and made his way through the crowd, seemingly annoying the blond dolt. He barely even heard the insult yelled to him, "Hey! I'm right here ya know!"

_Hmph. I think I've found my opponent._

Yugi saw the CEO heading his way and gulped. "Uh, go on and have a drink, darling," he said to Dark Magician Girl. The monster-faking-human nodded and skipped away to the buffet bar.

Kaiba approached the boy slowly and stopped. He looked down upon him with his deep blue stare, the one that intimidated anyone who got caught up in it.

Yugi stared straight back at him, feeling an inner confidence he'd never had before. His amethyst eyes burned brighter than ever, and they seemed to have a crimson shade to them too.

"You," said Kaiba simply. "Duel me."

The rug had slipped out from under Yugi's feet. Had Kaiba, the CEO of KaibaCorp and multi-millionaire as well as Duelist Champion, just asked him to Duel him? It felt so surreal, just like the rest of the night had.

"Well, are you going to answer or are you deaf?"

Yugi shook his head to clear his thoughts and smirked. "OK," he said. "Let's Duel."

There were cries of shock, horror and excitement from the other students. As Kaiba led him back to the stage, Yugi noticed Joey looking enraged and Tristan pulling him off and laughing at his face.

The Duelists took their positions at either side of the stage, and Kaiba held up his Duel Disk. "Heads or Tails?" he called to his opponent.

"Heads," replied Yugi.

Kaiba pressed a button and a disc of blue and red was ejected from the top of the Duel Disk. It flipped in the air before landing on top of the cyan circle. The blue side with an eye was facing upwards.

"Heads it is," said Kaiba, returning the disc to his invention. "You may go first."

"It's time to show the true Heart of the Cards!" announced Yugi.

"Let's see if you have the cards to defeat me," countered Kaiba.

The pair of them shouted at the same time, "DUEL!"

"It's my turn," said Yugi. "I summon Blackland Fire Dragon to the field in Attack position! Next I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn," shouted Kaiba. "I draw!" From his visual he saw that he'd pulled an Enemy Controller. "First I summon Ryu-Kishin to the field in Attack position! Next I activate the Spell card Negative Energy Generator! This allows me to treble the ATK of one of my DARK-type monsters. I treble Ryu-Kishin's ATK so it is now 3000! And now we battle! Ryu-Kishin, attack and destroy this boy's Blackland Fire Dragon!"

"Not so fast," chuckled Yugi. "I reveal my face-down card. Spellbinding Circle! I can select one of your monsters and pick from one of two effects. The first is lowering your ATK by 700. But since that won't help me, I choose to activate the second effect. I target your Ryu-Kishin and activate the effect! Ryu-Kishin is now unable to attack, and its position cannot be changed."

"Guh," grunted Kaiba, annoyed that this boy had stopped him in his tracks. "Fine. I end my turn."

* * *

The Duel got intense and lasted for a very long time. Both Duelists were having too much fun to realise that it was almost midnight. The students, too, failed to notice the time.

"And now, bear witness to my greatest ally!" came the triumphant call of Kaiba as he raised a hand aloft. "I Tribute Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field in Attack position!"

The students squealed in delight as a holographic Blue-Eyes White Dragon materialised in front of them.

"I end my turn. Let's see how you fare against this, boy!" laughed Kaiba.

Yugi gave a smile and locked eyes with his opponent. He couldn't believe he was having a duel with  _the_  Seto Kaiba, and he looked to be just as into it as he was. "It's my turn! I draw!" The card was Mirror Force. "I Tribute Magician's Rod to Summon my friend who has helped me out today, Dark Magician! And now -"

Before Yugi could say anything more, the school bell rung to signify it was midnight. His head turning sharply to look at the clock, the young Muto gasped in horror before jumping off the stage and towards the door, dragging Dark Magician Girl with him.

"Hey, wait a minute!" called Kaiba, infuriated that his opponent had suddenly abandoned the Duel. He shut down his Duel Disk and chased after him. "Come back here! We have a Duel to finish!"

Yugi couldn't glance back; he had to get out of there! He heard the sixth bell chime and felt his legs get smaller and weaker. His smart suit was beginning to fade away as he reached the doors, and Kaiba was close behind. It was lucky the darkness of night concealed the return of the school uniform.

Nine chimes. Dark Magician Girl disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Yugi holding her card in his hand. Still he ran, and he burst out of the doors and hurried into the shadows where the limousine was.

Twelve chimes. His lavish suit disappeared and the limousine along with it. The cards rested on the floor and as Yugi approached them he scooped them up before ducking behind a statue. He clutched at his precious cards as he watched Kaiba exit the school. When he looked in his direction he ducked out of sight, but still kept his own gaze on the CEO.

Yugi sighed sadly and pulled himself back into the shadows. It was only then he suddenly noticed that the necklace was still around his neck. He checked it for damage, and it only seemed to be missing a piece. He also realised that his Duel Disk had fallen from his arm, but there was no time to go searching for it now.

Thankfully one of the cards he'd managed to save was Dark Magician, and as he pulled it into his hands he gave the artwork a smile.

"Thank you," he whispered as he headed for home. "Thank you so, so much."

* * *

Kaiba snarled in rage as he looked around for that mystery boy. He couldn't have gotten too far away! And yet there was no trace of him anywhere.

"How DARE he!" he snapped to thin air. "How DARE that kid leave me in the middle of a Duel! A DUEL of all things! Arrrrghhh!" He clutched and pulled at his hair in anger.

Suddenly he noticed something on the ground. Stooping closer for a look, Kaiba plucked a golden piece of metal from the ground. It looked quite strange, yet it seemed to hold some familiar presence to him …

"If that kid dropped this, maybe he dropped something else, " thought Kaiba as he began to retrace his steps.

When he got back inside to the hallway, the CEO found a Duel Disk on the floor. Somehow it had slipped off of the boy's arm when he'd escaped. Picking it up, Kaiba inspected his own invention.

"Hmm," he muttered to himself. "The grip is small, probably customised to fit only a small arm."

Blue eyes also noticed that the boy's Deck was still in its holder, and that the cards remained where they had been placed on the field. The only card that was missing was the card the Duelist had just summoned only minutes ago. Strange. Why take the card of the monster that had just been called upon in battle?

Then it hit him. The Dark Magician ... there was only one copy in the entire city. And that copy had been sold to someone mysterious a few weeks ago. It truly was valuable; leaving it unattended was definitely not an option.

Kaiba gave a small smirk. "I'll find the owner of this Duel Disk and the Dark Magician, and then he'll have to finish his Duel with me! I'll make sure of it!"

* * *

The next day, Yugi was feeling much more cheerful as he walked through the school. His grandpa was still in hospital but was making a fast recovery. And everyone was discussing the mystery boy who had come into the prom and battled with Seto Kaiba for goodness knows how long.

The boy felt proud to keep that night his little secret for now.

Suddenly Mokuba came running through the hallway, yelling excitedly. "Betcha haven't heard the news!" he could be heard shouting to everyone.

He failed to see Yugi in front of him and crashed into him. The pair fell to the floor, groaning in pain and rubbing their heads.

Mokuba looked up first and saw Yugi. "Oops!" he cried, getting up onto his feet. "Sorry 'bout that! Didn't see ya!" He reached down with one hand.

"Eh, it's alright," chuckled Yugi, accepting the help and being pulled to his feet. "I'm kinda used to it actually. You know, not being seen by anyone …" he trailed off, looking away as he did so.

"My name's Mokuba," introduced Mokuba. "What's yours?"

"Huh?" Yugi was surprised at this. "You … want to know my name?"

"Uh, yeah?" replied Mokuba. "What, you never had anyone ask you before?"

"No," sighed Yugi, absentmindedly rubbing his arm. "I - I'm never really asked by anyone round here. All they do is tease me for my hair and looks."

"I'm sure my big brother could sort out those jerks for you," offered Mokuba. "He's real good at that sort of stuff. As well as typing. He never stops typing."

"Um, my name's Yugi," said Yugi quietly. "In answer to your question."

"Nice ta meet ya, Yugi!" chuckled Mokuba. "Oh, didja hear the news?"

"What news?"

"You know, about Seto Kaiba coming here and having a Duel with some boy?"

"Yeah, I know that bit."

"Well, he's coming back today to try and find him!"

At this Yugi gasped. "Wait, what?! Why?! What did -" He chose his words carefully. " -  _that guy_  do to him?"

"Oh, he left before the Duel finished," explained Mokuba. "So now he's intent on coming back to find him so he can finish what he said was 'the best Duel he'd had in ages'."

Yugi's heart skipped a beat in pride. Seto Kaiba … he said that? The Duel he'd had with him was the best he'd had in a long time?

"Well, I'd better get going," said Mokuba. "Seto's coming in a little while and I have to make sure all his stuff's ready. I'm gonna help my big brother find this King of Games!"

Yugi waved goodbye to his latest meeting when the realisation of what Mokuba had just said hit him. Hard.

_Wait a minute ...did he just say … big brother? Is Mokuba … Seto Kaiba's little brother?!_

Before he could do anything, however, Yugi suddenly felt his arms being pulled behind him and he was swiftly turned round. There stood Joey, evil grin plastered all over his face, whilst Tristan held him captive.

"Heya shorty. Didja hear? Kaiba's comin' ta find dat Duelist. And he's gonna be Duellin' me when I tell 'im it was me!"

"Not unless he picks me!"

"Ain't gonna happen Tristan!"

"Says who?"

"Says me, ya nimrod!"

"This coming from the guy who couldn't even beat a girl at Duel Monsters when he first started."

"Oh  _yeah_?! Dat's rich comin' from da dude who called da game Droolin' Monsters at first!"

Yugi coughed to get some attention. "Uh, hello?" he said quietly, still managing to draw the attention of his two bullies. "So, uh, what about me? Don't I stand a chance of meeting Kaiba?"

Joey laughed. "Hah hah! Like you'd even get seen by 'im. Ya too small, runt. Besides, ya gonna haveta be good at pickin' locks ta see 'im anyway."

Yugi gulped at this. "Picking … locks …?"

* * *

Yugi was right about feeling worried. Tristan threw him into the janitor's cupboard, then slammed the door before Joey locked it with a key. As he pocketed the key, Joey laughed victoriously and walked away with his friend in tow.

Yugi thumped on the door, but it was no good. No-one was around to hear him.

"Please, let me out!" he cried desperately. "Please! Anyone!"

His cries were met with silence.

Yugi stopped thumping on the door and let his hands rest upon the wood for a moment. He then fell to his knees, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Please …" he sobbed. "I have to see Seto Kaiba … I have to let him know … it was me …"

* * *

Kaiba let out an inaudible groan when he saw the hundreds of students lined up to try on the Duel Disk. He was dressed in his casual black suit with white sleeveless coat, silver gauntlets and the card pendant that hung around his neck. Mokuba stood by him, grinning from ear to ear.

"For goodness sake, Mokuba," the elder brother said. "This had better work."

"Oh come on Seto," giggled Mokuba. "One of these guys has to be your opponent. This is the only way to find out."

He scanned the sea of males, but suddenly noticed a lack of tri-coloured hair. "Huh?" he said to himself. "Where is he?"

"Where's who Mokuba?" asked Kaiba, almost puzzled as to his brother's sudden concern.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," stammered Mokuba nervously, adding an uneasy laugh. Kaiba didn't look the least bit convinced, however, and he raised an eyebrow. "I'm just, uh, gonna go grab something from my locker. I'll be back in a minute!"

And with that the younger brother darted away.

Kaiba shook his head; sometimes Mokuba was just really strange. And stupid. Now that he'd gone, it was just Seto himself that had to deal with the many potential opponents waiting for him.

* * *

Mokuba ran through the hallways, looking for Yugi. He knew that everyone deserved a chance and when he'd noticed his absence he knew something was up.

As he ran past the janitor's cupboard, he heard faint sobbing coming from behind. The little boy backed up and stared at the door for a few seconds, listening to the sobs. He then approached and peeked through the keyhole.

Tri-coloured hair greeted his eye on the other side.

"Yugi?" asked Mokuba.

From the other side, Yugi looked up from his crying session when he heard the voice. Gasping, he looked up and peeked at the keyhole himself.

"Mokuba?!" he cried. "Oh thank goodness! Please, I'm locked in here and can't get out!"

"I might be able to unlock the door, but I need something thin," explained Mokuba.

"Will a Duel Monsters card work?" asked Yugi, pulling out the Dark Magician card from his pocket.

"Yeah, that might do it," replied Mokuba.

The youngest Muto slid the card with his fairy godmonster on underneath the door, and he felt Mokuba pick it up on the other side. He could hear clicking sounds as the boy slid the card into the crack in the door and fiddled around with the locking mechanism.

After what seemed like ages, the door opened.

Yugi almost fell forward when the door was pulled backwards and he smiled at Mokuba. The younger Kaiba brother smiled back as the tri-coloured teen got up and walked towards him.

"Thank you Mokuba," Yugi said. "You saved me."

"No problem," replied Mokuba. He gave the card back to the youngest Muto … along with a sly grin and narrowed eyes. "Besides, I'm not gonna let the true opponent not get a chance to finish his Duel."

Yugi was just about to respond when he suddenly realised what Mokuba had said and gasped. "Y - you know …?"

"From Seto's description," explained Mokuba, shrugging. "You seem to fit the bill. Plus no-one else here has Dark Magician …" He pointed to the card in Yugi's hand. "Except the mystery Duelist … and you."

Yugi had a slightly open mouth and he started at Mokuba for a moment before giving a small smile. "It was a really cool Duel," he admitted. "More fun than I'd ever had before."

"Come on," said Mokuba, running forward as he did so. "We've got to get back to Seto before it's too late!"

Yugi dutifully followed behind him.

* * *

"This isn't working."

Kaiba removed the Duel Disk from another unsuccessful student. He'd already gone through so many, and there was still no sign of his opponent. He'd expected a few students to fit the piece of equipment so he'd readied a back-up plan for those who fit.

Although currently none had been able to fit the Disk perfectly yet.

"Next!"

Joey was next to attempt. He chuckled as he held down his sleeve and the Duel Disk was slid over his arm. For once it seemed to fit, and Kaiba was astounded. Then he asked his question, "So Duelist. It looks like I've found you. Now where's your Dark Magician?"

He'd noticed that his opponent had treasured that particular card during their Duel, and that would reveal who truly was his mystery opponent. If it was missing from the Disk, then the owner had to have taken it with them. No Duelist would leave such a valuable card behind.

Joey's face slipped. He hadn't expected this. "Um, lemme just find it for ya," he said as he searched the Deck in the Disk. When he couldn't find the card, he searched his own in a vain attempt to stall for time.

Kaiba was not impressed. He tore the Duel Disk off from the teen's arm and pushed him away. "Get out of here, mutt. Next!"

"'Ey, wait a minute! First off, don't call me mutt; I ain't no dog! Second, I'm sure it's around 'ere somewhere! Gimme a chance!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes as Tristan shoved his friend away and held out his arm. The CEO tried to slip the Disk on, but the arm was too thick and so it didn't work.

"Stupid muscly arms," Tristan cursed as he walked off, dragging Joey with him.

Kaiba noticed that he'd gone through all the boys and closed his eyes in defeat. Maybe his opponent had gate-crashed the prom? Maybe he attended another school? Why hadn't he thought things through a little better before rushing over here? He got up to make an announcement.

"Well, it looks like my opponent isn't here," he said. "Thank you all for your time and -"

" **Stop big brother!** "

Kaiba looked in the direction of the shout, as did everyone. There stood Mokuba in the doorway, with a strange tri-coloured haired boy behind him. The raven-haired boy walked towards the brunet, with the other boy following him.

"Big brother, you haven't tried  _everyone_ ," said Mokuba as he gestured to Yugi.

"Mokuba, what are you -" started Kaiba, but his brother silenced him with a shake of his head.

"Just one more try," he asked. "Pleeeeeeaaase?" His hands were clasped in front of his chest and he had those puppy-dog eyes ...

Kaiba inwardly cursed himself. "Fine," he grumbled. "OK, kid. Come up here."

As Yugi approached to try the Duel Disk, Joey grew enraged. "How did 'e get outta the closet?!" he seethed to Tristan. "Dis is your fault ya know."

"My fault?! You were the one who locked the door!" Tristan countered.

Kaiba had to kneel down so he could slip the Disk onto Yugi's arm. It was a perfect fit, so the CEO got his back-up question ready.

"So Duelist. It looks like I've found you. Now where's your Dark Magician?"

Yugi smiled as he reached into his pocket. "Right here," he said, pulling out the foil Ultra Rare card.

Kaiba gasped in shock and recoiled slightly, as did everyone else. Even Joey and Tristan were amazed.

The golden piece in the brunet's pocket began to glow and he pulled it out. Yugi gasped himself when he saw it was the missing piece to his necklace and held it up from his pocket. Kaiba saw the hole in the golden pyramid and instinctively slid the final piece into the puzzle. There was a slight glow and when it died down, he saw his opponent had returned.

Yugi gave Kaiba a confident grin. "So Kaiba," he said in his deep voice. "Ready to finish that Duel?"

Kaiba gave a determined smile. "I thought you'd never offer … King of Games."

* * *

Mokuba sighed as he finished his story. "There we go!" he said cheerfully. "So what did ya think Seto?" No reply greeted his ears. "Seto?"

The raven-haired kid glanced at his brother and let out a snicker. Seto Kaiba, the stone-faced CEO, had fallen asleep in the chair whilst listening to his brother's story. His crossed arms had fallen limp over his chest and his head had rolled to one side, but all in all he looked quite peaceful.

A sudden snore made Mokuba jump, and he couldn't suppress his giggles any more. He'd wondered why his brother had suddenly gone quiet halfway through the story, and now he knew why. It was amazing how unkempt Seto was when he was asleep - it was too funny not to laugh at.

When he finally calmed himself down, Mokuba decided to lay a blanket over Seto's sleeping form before climbing back into bed and drifting off to experience more fairy tales in his mind.


	3. Caterpillars and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Seto loses control of his mind, he takes on a more dangerous form; the transformation is akin to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Malefic Monster is a darker side of Seto that is based on the Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Please see my profile for more info regarding where to find my musings of him.
> 
> Needless to say - I love writing about this bad boy of a Kaiba personality.

_Caterpillars are strange little creatures._

_They're small; barely any bigger than a daisy. They go unnoticed by many humans, often using their size to hide away in the darkness of the grass._

Seto's head pounded, and his hands reached up to hold it. He didn't know why, but he had this desire … a desire for destruction.

His heart thumped against his chest, a sign that also didn't go unnoticed. Why was he feeling like this?

_They don't have many defences. Their flesh is soft to the touch, and it doesn't serve as good protection._

Seto leaned against the wall of his office, trying to keep calm. He breathed in slowly and exhaled, fighting the oncoming wave of nausea that was upon him. A hand reached behind him to steady himself, fingertips pressed against the wallpaper.

He wasn't ill, that much he knew. Maybe he'd hit his head on something and the pain was only just beginning to register - but if that was the case what was with the nausea? And why now?

_They're easy pickings for larger animals. Birds often hunt down insects like the tasty caterpillar as snacks. With their pitiful defensive tactics, they barely stand a chance._

_So how have these 'weak bugs' stayed around all these years?_

His blue eyes locked onto the floor, onto a certain spot. It was an attempt to distract himself from the pain.

His head really hurt now. It was getting more and more difficult to distinguish reality from thought. Seto swore he could see things - dragons laying siege to his office, the Big Five sitting at his desk and looking at him like he was their master, even Yugi doubled over in pain from something. It was freaking him out a little.

Not only that, but there was this voice. A voice that had to belong to someone, yet no _body_  was in the office. Well, no-one but him.

" _Come, my monster. You know you want to."_

That voice … it was tempting him. Testing him. But for what?

Seto shook his head, but the building fog in his mind remained. He was struggling to concentrate, to focus, to  _remember_.

Remember … remember …

Remember what?

Seto found he was drawing a blank. What had he been thinking of these past few minutes? Or … anything for that matter? And … why did he have this … overwhelming urge to destroy?

_They undergo a miraculous transformation_.

Seto's eyes rose from their gaze, the pupils having narrowed to resemble those of a cat's eyes. He was starting to remember something now …

"Mokuba …" The name felt foreign to his lips, yet it still struck a bell. "Mokuba …"

" _Yes, yes, Seto, Mokuba. Mokuba is very important to you. Do you know why?"_

Seto wished he knew, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. With the dizzy spell now leaving his mind, he pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to his desk. As he did, his longer side-bangs brushed against his cheeks.

He had heard the name somewhere, and it filled his heart with some sort of emotion. Was it … love? Did he love this Mokuba person?

"I …" he stuttered. "I … don't know."

There was a disembodied chuckle. The owner of the voice knew it had almost total control over the CEO now; he just needed to cross the line of no return.

"Why is Mokuba important to me?" asked Seto out loud, looking around the room as he did.

" _Because he is your mortal enemy._ "

All of a sudden Seto felt the emotion in his heart again. So it wasn't love … it was  _hate_.

Hate. A powerful emotion that can make people do the craziest things, say the cruelest words …

… and think the total falsities of their real life.

_A caterpillar first encases themselves in a cocoon woven from their own silk. The cocoon shields them from whatever life may throw at them, like an impenetrable wall, as their metamorphosis starts and grows._

Seto's brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He … he  _hated_  Mokuba. Yes … that felt … true. Mokuba … he hated Mokuba.

"Of course he is," he agreed with the voice. "I hate Mokuba. He is my mortal enemy."

That earlier feeling of destruction now made more sense. Seto wanted to destroy something … and now he had a target.

He wanted to destroy Mokuba.

No longer was the kid his younger brother … he was his nemesis.

The voice that was controlling Seto like a puppet chuckled. " _Go to it, my monster. Destroy your enemy. But first … make yourself look more … malefic."_

Seto nodded and strode over to a magnificent wardrobe. He began searching through the articles of clothing he kept in his office, just in case something were to happen to his clothes during the day. A coffee spillage could happen at any moment, after all.

His hand flicked through suits of white and blue, but nothing struck his fancy. How could he dress .. malefically … in white? That wasn't a dark, foreboding colour at all!

Then he saw it. His old blue trench coat, the same one he'd worn at Duelist Kingdom when … oh, who knows why he'd gone over there. The important thing was that it was a dark colour, and Seto could make a few alterations to it if he had to.

The coat was slipped off its hanger and quickly pulled over his arm. Now … what to do about this white suit he was wearing now …

A few minutes later, and Seto had sorted out his new outfit. Having ditched the white suit he was wearing before, he now stood wearing a light blue top coupled with grey pants that had a faded cyan colouring at the bottom of the legs. He had on a pair of dark grey boots that had the trousers tucked into them and, of course, the blue trench coat was now on.

Seto made a mental note to change the collar of the coat, as well as add some white markings to the shoulders. He didn't know why, but he felt it would make it more … malefic.

_When the cocoon cracks, a beautiful new creature emerges. Vivid wings spread out to the sky, and a new butterfly is created._

_The creature is none the worse for wear, but the previous existence it held has now been shed._

The voice chuckled again, only this time it was more intense.

And Seto chuckled along with it. His tone was dark and the chuckle was more like a cackle.

_Caterpillars could be considered cute at first. But their morph into butterflies is a perfect analogy to describe Seto Kaiba's change from the Dragon_ _Master_  …  _to the_ _Malefic Monster_ _._


	4. Safety Inspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seto and Mokuba instigate a safety inspection around KaibaCorp - with hilarious / disastrous consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was based on a doodle I once did with Seto decked out in safety gear. I can totally see him doing safety checks every now and then around KaibaCorp - just to add a bit of realism to our favourite workaholic card-playing nerd.
> 
> And I totally see Mokie getting involved.
> 
> Also, appearance of the Blue-Eyes Maintenance Dragons from Duel Links! Enjoy!

This was the last straw.

Seto slammed his KC mug down on his desk, the contents sloshing dangerously close to the rim. His eyes narrowed and he gave an irritated huff as he looked at the form that had been slid in front of him.

There had been too many incidents at KaibaCorp lately, all of which had endangered an employee's safety. First an experiment had gone wrong in the labs, leaving behind a mess of broken glass and little to no lab scientists. Then a test run with the new Duel Disk model had gone horribly wrong and one of the projectors had flown in the wrong direction, striking a researcher.

And now this. Probably the worst incident yet in Seto's eyes.

The coffee machine in the break room had exploded, showering employees with scalding hot coffee, boiling milk and enough paper cups to build a styrofoam pyramid.

Without his coffee, the young CEO was known to get cranky and irritable. He was showing this drawback now as he reclined in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose and groaning in frustration.

Mokuba had his hands behind his back, wincing when he saw that knowing look on his brother's face. He bowed his head and looked up, trying to avoid any possible anger being directed at him.

"So, uh, yeah, that's the story," he finished, having only just explained the whole coffee machine calamity in its entirety.

Seto rubbed his eyes with his hands and leaned forward to look at the form again. A complaint form handed in by one of the workers covered and injured by steaming hot coffee -  _black_ , Seto noted.  _At least the guy had good taste._  The form was stained with the said drink, having probably dripped onto it from the worker himself, and the aroma was faint but unmistakable.

It made his own coffee a bit of a luxury now. The last remaining mug on the premises.

"What are we going to do Seto?" Mokuba pitched in, drawing his brother away from the form and his own thoughts.

The answer was obvious.

"We're going on a safety inspection," Seto announced, standing up and taking a quick sip from his mug.

* * *

"Why do I have to wear this thing, Seto? It's itchy and ugly and -"

"You wanted to come with me, and we need to be visible. That's why. You'll just have to put up with it."

Mokuba pouted and crossed his arms as he followed his brother. He was happy to help out, but if there was one thing he hated about safety inspections it was the stuff they had to wear. The raven-haired kid was wearing a fluorescent yellow safety vest that covered his jumper and body warmer, with silver stripes running down the front and back. He also wore a yellow hard hat with a blue line going around the edge and the KaibaCorp logo emblazoned in the middle.

Seto didn't even bother looking up from his KC tablet to scold his brother for his childish behaviour at that moment. He too wore a fluorescent safety vest, only his was green, and the same hard hat that Mokuba wore was perched atop his chestnut hair. He'd ditched his famous white coat to put the vest on, yet he still wore the blue bands around his arms and ankles.

"Hngh," the elder Kaiba moaned to himself. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get Roland to fetch me a coffee from Duelist Café."

"And a shake for me!" Mokuba suddenly looked interested, having overheard the words Duelist Café.

Seto finally looked up and glanced at the kid before giving a very small smile. "Yes, and a shake for you," he repeated.

"Yay!" cried Mokuba, hands in the air. With something to look forward to at the end of this, he was now eager to begin. "So where do we start?"

"In the labs," replied Seto, his eyes fixed once more on the tablet. His fingers nimbly swiped away a window and replaced it with a box full of text. "The mess needs to get cleaned up and we have to do a bit of investigating. I think we should start by …"

As Seto carried on explaining his plan, he failed to notice that he was approaching a ladder that was leaning precariously against a shelving unit packed with boxes.

Mokuba gasped in horror. "Nii-sama! Watch out!" he yelled. "It's bad luck to walk under a ladder!"

"Hmm?" Seto looked back at the raven-haired kid and stopped just as he stepped out from the other side of the ladder. "Honestly Mokuba," he scolded. "That's a load of nonsense. Nothing bad can happen from walking under a ladder."

"Yeah-huh," countered Mokuba, running up to Seto. "Just last week, one of my friends said he saw this guy walk under a ladder and then he tripped on the pavement and nearly got stampeded!"

Seto's eyes became half-lidded. "That's a bit of a stretch," he said bluntly.

"Well it's true!"

"Look, I just walked under a ladder … and nothing's happened, hmm?"

"Not yet anyway!"

"..." Seto released a breath. "... OK, I'll give this 'bad luck' the count of three to strike me. Afterwards, you'll see how much of a liar your friend was and how superstitious you are."

Seto closed his eyes, held up a hand and counted off each number with a raised finger.

"One … two …"

Suddenly a large box landed in between the two brothers, making Mokuba leap backwards in fright and stumble onto the floor. Seto himself was about to say 'three' when the box crashed in front of him, making him jump backwards as well. A few seconds afterwards the ladder gave way with a horrendous creaking sound and slid down the shelving unit, colliding with the young CEO and pinning him between it and the floor.

Mokuba was rubbing his head when he heard Seto give a yelp of surprise. He looked up, only to see his beloved brother lying on the floor with the ladder trapping the lower half of his body.

"SETO!" screamed Mokuba, running over to his role model's fallen form.

To his relief, Seto was still conscious; in fact he had his head in one hand whilst the other's fingers drummed the floor in annoyance. If anything he looked to be more angry than in pain.

"Seto! Are you OK?" Mokuba frantically looked over the brunet, looking for any signs of serious injury.

"This is why we need our safety gear," stated Seto matter-of-factly. "Besides, I'm difficult to eliminate; I hardly think a ladder would scrape me up too badly. Could you get it off of me, though? I'm ... pinned down here, if it wasn't obvious."

Mokuba nodded as a reply and quickly pulled the ladder off of his brother. He looked up and let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as Seto got up and brushed himself off, acting like nothing had even happened.

The pair looked at the ladder for a few moments, wondering how it could have fallen when nobody had even been on there. They then wondered the same thing about the box.

Mokuba glanced up at Seto.

"Told ya."

"Don't start getting cheeky with me, Mokuba Kaiba."

* * *

After the ladder incident, Seto decided to pause inspection for a few minutes and catch his breath back. He didn't want Mokuba to worry too much about him, so he suggested they go to the break room for a small rest.

As they sat on a comfy leather couch, Mokuba was still looking over the brunet and making sure he hadn't missed anything. One could never be too careful when dealing with injuries at KaibaCorp, after all.

Seto decided to get out his phone and boot up his latest game,  _Duel Links_. He'd always wanted a place where people could gather and Duel each other without having to worry about their immediate location - what if two cousins on opposite ends of the world wanted to Duel? With  _Duel Links_ , that Duel could now happen.

The young CEO got past the loading screen and entered Duel World. He was obviously playing as himself, and he'd already levelled himself up to the maximum level. He decided to Duel a few random Duelists, and maybe even Yugi himself, just to keep him from getting bored.

As Seto swiped his finger across his phone, something moved in the digital bushes. He was confused - he hadn't programmed anything to do that! Curious, he tapped the bushes - but nothing happened.

 _I really need to get that coffee machine fixed_ , Seto thought to himself, glancing at the said machine in the process.

He engaged in a few Duels, which he easily won, and then proceeded to challenge Yugi to a battle. When he tapped on the gate, however, something flew onto his screen which made him gasp.

A Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Well, to be more specific, a chibi-like Blue-Eyes White Dragon with a hard-hat resembling his own.

The pixellated dragon gave its creator a wink before glitching out of the screen. A few seconds later, the app crashed.

Seto stared at the screen in horror. A growl rose from the back of his throat, the volume increasing before being released as a yell of anger.

Mokuba looked up, surprised, and immediately retracted his hands away from Seto's arm when he heard the yell.

"Those pesky dragons!" the young CEO snarled. "Why, oh WHY, did I even THINK that making them my in-game MAINTENANCE TEAM would be a GOOD IDEA?!"

"Big brother, what happened?" asked Mokuba.

Seto gave his brother a heated glare, his anger still fuelling his rash movements. When he saw the kid move away from him, however, the anger seemed to dissipate and he took a few deep breaths to regain control.

"I'm sorry, Mokie," he murmured. "I didn't mean to … argh, I am not having a good day."

"Hey, that's you," chuckled Mokuba. "I'm surprised you don't lose it more often."

"Ha hah, very funny," Seto dead-panned. " … it's those Blue-Eyes Maintenance Dragons. They're running amuck in  _Duel Links_  again. I need to get down to the Duel Links system and put them in their place."

"Wait," said Mokuba. "Do those dragons have AI?"

"Yeah. They're Blue-Eyes; of course they're going to have AI. Smart AI at that."

"Uhhhh, Seto … I don't think it was a good idea to give them that."

"And why not?"

"Because now you've, erm … given them enough intelligence to, uh, mock you … and trash the system."

Seto was about to retort when his brother's words struck him. Ah … now that he thought about it … too much AI could be bad after all.

It somewhat surprised him how clever Mokuba could be sometimes. Not that he, his older brother, would ever admit it.

"I knew that." Seto's tone remained indignant, even if he was telling a lie. "I'm going to sort out those three troublemakers now. In the meantime, why don't you, Mokie 'Mischief-Maker' Kaiba -" he ruffled his brother's hair, much to Mokuba's chagrin. " - take a look at the coffee machine?"

"OK, OK," laughed Mokuba.

Seto stood up, KC tablet in hand, and strode to the door. "Just be careful!" he warned. "I don't want you taking an early leave of absence." He slipped out the door and added to himself, "I'd never live with myself if you did."

Mokuba rolled his eyes playfully. At this rate, problems would keep on happening and his shake would never come.


	5. Mood Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally have some alone time together, so they spend the day shopping to their heart's content. During this shopping spree, Mokuba picks up an item that will bring the brothers closer together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you believe this drabble stems from when I purchased a mood ring? 
> 
> Also I headcanon Ryou to work in a charity shop. I think he'd like it.

Out of all the days Mokuba enjoyed, his favourite ones were when he and Seto were together. They could do anything they wanted to do, go wherever they wanted to go. No work to stop Seto, no school to hinder Mokuba … just a whole twenty-four hours to themselves.

These days were, of course, extremely rare but when they came around Mokuba made sure to enjoy every last minute of them.

And today was one of those fleeting days.

It had started off like normal: wake up, have breakfast (though this time in pyjamas, which the little boy thought was much better than getting dressed first) and then the rest of the day was theirs for the taking.

Mokuba had an idea on which to spend some quality time with his older sibling.

"Big bro?" he asked through a mouthful of cereal. No big breakfast today; that could wait until tomorrow when life resumed as normal.

Seto looked up from reading the newspaper, lowering it slightly as he did so. "Yes, Mokuba?"

"Can we go shopping today?"

It wasn't a question that crossed the Kaiba brothers' lips very often, as the maids and butlers usually did the shopping for them. A benefit of being rich, after all.

Seto's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in confusion. "And why do you want to do that?"

"I have a few things I wanna get."

"Such as?"

"I'm not telling you! It's secret!"

"So … I have to let you in on all the secret work I do in my secret lab, but you won't let me know what's on your secret shopping list? Seems a bit unfair if you ask me."

"I know what you're trying to do, Seto. Twist the words to make me feel guilty. I'm a Kaiba too, ya know; I don't fall for those tricks that easily."

Seto chuckled and glanced at the clock hanging just above the doorway. It was still early in the morning; the shops wouldn't open for another hour or so.

"We'll give it another hour, and if you still want to go then we'll go."

"Aw yeah!" Mokuba jumped out of his seat, knocking the spoon from where it had been balanced carefully and sending it twirling into the air. Small droplets of milk splattered over the raven-haired boy and even scored a lucky hit on Seto's newspaper before the piece of silverware clattered on the tile floor.

Mokuba gave a sheepish grin. "Oops …" he said.

Normally Seto would get annoyed at this and walk off in a huff, but as today was one of those special brotherly bonding days he brushed it off and only gave an irritated sigh.

* * *

The hour came and went, and Mokuba didn't change his mind. Seto was more than happy to oblige his little brother and go shopping with him; if it made Mokuba happy then it made him happy too. With no KaibaCorp business to worry about today he could actually enjoy the peace for a change.

Roland drove the brothers to the Domino City Mall where they quickly bid him farewell and turned to face the entrance.

Mokuba looked up at his chestnut-haired brother from underneath his baseball cap. "Let's go Seto!" he said excitedly.

Seto glanced down at his brother through his dark shades and smoothed down his unusually casual clothing. "Alright, alright," he muttered. "Just remember, I still have an image to uphold here."

Mokuba rolled his eyes and ran inside. Seto slowly walked behind him, his stony expression never faltering. It may have been his day off, but he still had a reputation to keep up. And that meant no smiling.

The brothers visited a few shops, with Mokuba dragging Seto inside with him to have a look around. The younger brother wanted to see everything that he could, and his shopping list - though still a secret known only by him - eventually dwindled down until everything had been bought.

It was about three hours later when the pair were heading towards a bench to sit down. Mokuba's arms were full of bags and he gently deposited them on the concrete floor before sitting down. It was amazing how the younger Kaiba could carry all those bags around with him for so long.

Seto took one look at the amount of shopping his brother had done.

"Have you got everything off your 'secret list'?" he asked sarcastically, yet still with a slight tug on his lips.

"Pretty much," replied Mokuba, swinging his legs. His eyes darted round until they settled on a small corner shop. "Ooh! Wait a minute, nii-sama! I wanna go in there!" He pointed to the shop.

Seto followed Mokuba's outstretched finger and his eyes narrowed.

"A charity shop?"

"There's  _bound_  to be some cool stuff in there!"

"Mokuba, we don't need anything from -"

"Come on big bro! Pleeeeeeease?"

Mokuba stared up at him, eyes wide and bottom lip trembling cutely. The classic puppy dog face was once again in use.

Seto was totally resistant to the charms of the infamous bargaining face, but … seeing as this was Mokuba, and it was on their brotherly day off …

"Alright. Let's have a look."

Mokuba pulled a clenched fist back in victory before running off in the direction of the shop. Seto was left sitting on the bench with a load of bags quietly waiting to be picked up. Rolling his eyes, the CEO slipped his arms through the handles and went to catch up with his brother yet again.

Meanwhile, the younger sibling was already inside and browsing the racks, looking for anything that he fancied. His hand flicked aside various shirts and jumpers, his eyes always alert.

"Ah ha!" He came across a light blue polo neck with white stitching and immediately thought of Seto. Checking the tag he saw that it was about his own size so he took it off the rail. Another smart shirt wouldn't hurt to impress his stone-faced workaholic big bro.

As Mokuba approached a set of shelves he spotted something else that took his fancy. A book all about Capsule Monsters and the new monsters being introduced to the game made the kid look up in astonishment.

"Aw man," he moaned when he realised the book was on the highest shelf, out of his grasp. "I want that book!"

"Do you need some help?" came a friendly voice from behind. Mokuba's head whipped round and he was surprised to see Ryou Bakura standing there, a polite smile on his face and a lanyard around his neck with his name in a plastic sleeve on the hook.

"Oh, hello Mokuba," the white-haired teen greeted the younger Kaiba. "I didn't realise it was you!"

"Hi Bakura!" replied Mokuba. "Yeah, I'm in disguise! Well, sort of … Seto didn't want us to be too obvious today, what with it being our day off and all."

"Is Kaiba here too?" questioned Ryou, looking around for the brunet.

"Yeah, though I don't know what's taking him so long," admitted Mokuba. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I volunteer here," explained Ryou, stepping back and gesturing to his lanyard. "I thought it would be a good way to get to know the people of Domino a little better. Plus the experience will look good for any future jobs." He gave a reassuring smile, like always. "So, do you need some help?"

"I want to get that Capsule Monsters book," sighed Mokuba, standing on his tiptoes to emphasise his next point. "But I just can't reach it."

"I'll get it down in a jiffy," answered Ryou. He quickly pulled over a stool and carefully stepped upon it. He reached out and plucked the book from its place on the shelf before handing it to Mokuba. "There you go."

"Thanks Bakura!"

"It's all part of the job. Are you ready to pay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Let's head on over to the till then."

The pair made their way over to a glass-top counter where Mokuba deposited his items carefully on top. Ryou logged into the cash register and began to scan the items one by one.

It was at this point Seto finally stepped inside the shop, dragging all of the shopping along with him. Spotting Mokuba he manoeuvred his way past racks of clothing and finally set down the bags again.

"I was wondering where you'd disappeared to bro," chuckled Mokuba. "Did you see a dragon in the window or something?"

Seto gave a disapproving glare. "As a matter of fact I did," he said in a slightly breathless voice. "If I knew how much they were I might consider getting one."

"There we go Mokuba," said Ryou, placing the last of the boy's items back onto the counter. "Is that every - oh, hello there Kaiba."

Seto nodded and Ryou knew that was a close to a proper greeting as he was going to get. "So, is that everything?"

Mokuba was just about to say yes when a glint caught his eye. He reached over and pulled a ring from a small display box. The blackness that greeted his eyes made him curious.

"What's this Bakura?" he asked.

"Oh, those are Mood Rings," replied the British teen, placing a hand on the counter. "They change colour depending on your mood. Your energy causes the colours to change. See?" He pointed to a Mood Ring on his index finger. "My ring is a deep green, so that means I'm either emotional or relaxed."

"Oh yeah!" laughed Mokuba. "You do look pretty relaxed."

"And, uh, emotional too …" added Ryou quietly, his eyes shifting from the younger Kaiba to the elder Kaiba in quick succession nervously.  _I hope fear counts as emotional ..._ he thought to himself.

"These seem really cool," Mokuba said, lifting the ring in his hand to the light.

"Oh please," scoffed Seto, rolling his eyes. "It's your body temperature that changes the colour, not your energy. Honestly, it's just another way to make money from gullible kids."

"Oh don't be a grouch, nii-sama," Mokuba countered. He turned back to face Ryou. "I'll take two, please!"

"Two?" Seto was a little surprised at this. "Why two?"

Mokuba gave a cheeky grin to his brother, and that was all the CEO needed to get the message.

"Ohhhhh no. I am NOT wearing, let alone  _owning_  something so ridiculous!"

"If you're not satisfied, I can give a refund to new items like the ring."

"Please Seto? You know you want to …"

"... ugh,  _fine_. If it will stop the constant puppy dog eyes then I'll get it."

Ryou scanned the bar code and Seto begrudgingly used his credit card to pay for the lot. As Mokuba left the shop with his new purchases, the elder Kaiba leaned over the counter.

"Rest assured, I will be back at some point this week to return the ring. And when I do I expect those dragons in the window to be wrapped up and ready for me, understand?"

Ryou nodded nervously. Seto seemed satisfied with this and he strode out the shop, leaving the British teen to release a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

* * *

"I'm hungry Seto," whined Mokuba. "Can we get a snack to eat?"

"Well, it is lunchtime," admitted Seto. "OK then. Let's stop off by that cafe over there and get some food."

"Alright!" cheered Mokuba.

The pair got settled in at a table and quickly picked out something to eat. As they waited for their orders Mokuba took out his mood ring and slipped it on his middle finger. He also took out a chart detailing all the colours and their respective emotions and waited for the ring to change colour.

"Hmph," was all Seto had to say on the matter. He shook his head at the thought of something so ridiculous - a piece of jewellery that could read one's inner emotions? Hah, like that even existed!

"Yeah, it's going red!" exclaimed Mokuba, thrusting his hand as far as he could. Seto could see that the ring was, indeed, going a deep shade of red. According to the chart that meant he was either energised or excited.

"What's yours like, bro?"

"I don't know because I refuse to put it on in public."

"Come on Seto. Do it for me."

"No."

"Please? I thought this was our day off. A time to do brotherly stuff together! Like checking our inner emotions!"

Seto had to admit that Mokuba was right. Today was a day for brotherly bonding, and his selfishness and pride was ruining the day. He hated seeing his brother disappointed, especially if it was to do with him.

Wordlessly he took of the ring out of the bag and slipped it on his index finger. Almost immediately it went white.

Mokuba scrambled for the chart. "Frustrated or bored …" he read aloud. " … oh … it can only mean one thing …"

As soon as he'd said that, Seto's ring changed colour. It was now a pinkish-purple, to which Seto read out, "Uncertainty or fear."

Mokuba looked up at this. "Huh?" he asked. "But … you're not scared of anything Seto."

Seto looked away. "That's ... not true …" he admitted.

A few moments of silence passed between the pair.

"I'm … afraid … of something."

"What? What is it bro?"

"... disappointing you."

Mokuba was taken aback by this somewhat, but he quickly recovered and gave an encouraging smile.

"Big bro, you never disappoint me. Not even when you're grumpy. I know that's just you."

The raven-haired kid got out of his chair and gave his brother a huge brotherly hug. Seto returned the gesture, his face burrowing into Mokuba's soft hair.

As they shared the embrace, Seto's ring changed colour once more. It became a deep amethyst purple, sparkling in the sunlight.

Once the brothers had finished their hug, they noticed the change in colour and Mokuba quickly scanned the chart for the appropriate emotion.

He looked up into cold blue eyes.

"Very happy or in love."

Seto smiled, and corrected his brother in a whisper, "Definitely very happy."


	6. Halloween with the Kaibas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween brings unwanted memories to the surface for Seto. But his brother's innocence and love for all things spooky brings back his holiday cheer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted as last year's 'Halloween with ...' entry. I guess since it's almost Halloween again this year, it wouldn't hurt to re-upload this now.
> 
> A slight return for the Malefic Monster too! I recommend visiting my profile for further info on this evil side of Seto.

October 31st. A day where young kids gathered to go trick-or-treating. A day where competitions for 'best costume' or 'scariest appearance' were in full swing. A day where sweet shops sold their old stock for lower prices because they knew the holiday would attract customers to them.

It was also a day where people remembered the deceased. Those who no longer inhabited the living, breathing world.

Not that Seto cared about that.

To him, Halloween was simply another day where he could help out the orphanage with his outrageous plans that always got the kids excited. There wasn't time to visit the cemetery and reminisce about the past.

_That_  was dead and buried anyway.

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose as he reclined in his leather office chair. His eyes closed and he let out a deep sigh that rolled off the walls in the empty office. The last streams of sunlight tickled the back of the chair and cast a shadow in front of him, stretching out across the desk.

Halloween was always a difficult holiday to prepare for. Mokuba, being the young kid that he was, always insisted that the pair go trick-or-treating - despite Seto's protests that they were getting older and he'd already outgrown the tradition.

Add to this that the brunet's own birthday had only been six days ago, and there were still baby blue streamers scattered across his brother's desk and even in the corner of his own office.

"Maybe I shouldn't bother this year," Seto mumbled to himself.

He thought about it. Halloween was not only a time to get lots of sweets, but also to give respect to those no longer around.

His parents were people to give respect to.

But  _he_  wasn't.

Seto opened his eyes and a blaze of anger ignited within them as he thought about the man that had caused him nothing but suffering. The man who he'd thought would give them a better life - only to cruelly lock it away until he had been bested by the one who was thinking of him now.

Gozaburo Kaiba.

He didn't deserve any kind of respect.

The thought of his stepfather made Seto clench his teeth and growl. Oh, how he hated the man! How could he have ever called him 'father' in the first place?! He was downright despicable and dishonest and deceptive and -

"Nii-sama!"

Seto snapped out of his alliterative flashbacks when Mokuba called him. He blinked twice to clear his mind before focusing on his baby brother.

Mokuba was once again ready to go trick-or-treating. This year he'd decided on imitating the Frost and Flame Dragon; he had on a top that was layered over a blue jumper with the left sleeve cut off, and an orange sleeve on his left arm with no top to go with. He had grey trousers and grey trainers on, and he had two masks in his hands - one representing a blue dragon head and the other an orange dragon head. A long 'tail' made from one of Seto's old belts completed the look.

"Are you ready?"

Seto had to press his lips in a thin line to keep himself from laughing. Mokuba looked ridiculous, but it was one of his 'ingenious' homemade costumes and at least he was happy with the outcome.

The raven-haired kid's appearance had certainly cheered up the CEO and those memories of Gozaburo vanished like a fog had lifted.

"Aww," whined Mokuba. "You're still in your work clothes." He pouted.

Seto gave a small smirk. "And what makes you think these are my work clothes?" he asked sarcastically, standing up from his seat.

Mokuba's eyes widened and his smile returned. "Hah ha!" he laughed. "You're the Malefic Monster!"

The elder Kaiba rounded the side of the desk to reveal his evil counterpart's dark blue trench-coat, light blue top and grey trousers and boots. The only aspects that differed were that his locket was still like its usual self and his hair, though messy, was not as long.

"Well, it saves me having to think of an idea, little brother," Seto continued, leaning against his desk. "And it  _is_  technically based off of a Blue-Eyes monster, so it seems good enough."

"Alright!" chuckled Mokuba. "Well come on, Seto! We're gonna miss out on all that candy if we don't hurry!"

As the kid rushed out of the office, the holiday spirit returned once more to the CEO. Oh well, would one more year really hurt?

Slipping his hand into a coat pocket, Seto searched for something. He pulled out a pair of fake fangs and tapped them into place within his mouth. Now he truly was ready.

He was going to have some fun with Mokuba. Unwind a little; relax.

He could probably freak that mutt Wheeler out in this 'costume', which would definitely put a proud smirk on his face for the night.

Yeah, that sounded like fun.


End file.
